Bobbin winding change-over mechanism in sewing machine



March 1954 YASUKlCHl OKAZAKI 3,123,034

BOBBIN WINDING CHANGE-OVER MECHANISM IN SEWING MACHINE Filed Sept. 30,1959 3 Sheets-Sheet l March 1964 YASUKICH] OKAZAKI 3,123,034

BOBBIN WINDING CHANGE-OVER MECHANISM IN SEWING MACHINE Filed Sept. 30,1959 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR.

March 1964 YASUKICHI OKAZAKI 3,123,034

BOBBIN WINDING CHANGE-OVER MECHANISM IN SEWING MACHINE Fil'eci Sept. 30,'1959 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVEN TOR.

United States Patent 3 123,634 BOBBIW WINDIN G ISI IANGE-OVER MECHANIEMIN SEWHJG MACHINE Yasuirichi Gkazaki, Kita-hn, Japan, assignor totianome Sewing 'Iachine Co., Ltd, Tokyo, Eapan Fiied Sept. 30, 1959,Ser. No. 843,423 Claims priority, application Japan Sept. 11, 1959 1Ciaim. (Cl. '112220) This invention relates to a bobbin windingchangeover mechanism in sewing machine.

One of the main objects of the invention is to provide a change-overmechanism, which is operably only by manual-opening a clapper covernormally covering the constituents of the mechanism built in the machinehead.

Another object is to provide a changeover mechanism of the type abovereferred to, wherein troublesome and time-consuming loosening andretightening operation of conventional stop motion knob or the like canbe dispensed with.

Another object is to provide a change-over mechanism of the kind abovereferred to, which has substantially no projecting parts outwardly ofthe machine head outside surfaces, thus providing a neat and beautifulappearance to the machine.

Still another object is to provide a change-over mechanism of the kindabove referred to, which is simple in design, but efiicient inoperation.

Various further and more specific objects, features and advantages ofthe invention will appear from the description given below, taken inconnection with the accompanying drawings illustrating by way of examplea preferred embodiment of this invention.

In the drawings:

FIGURE '1 shows a plan view of essential parts of the change-overmechanism built-in in a sewing machine, and constructed according tothis invention, wherein, however, part thereof is broken away to clearlyshow the internal constituents;

FIGURE 2 represents a cross-section taken on the line AA in FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 3 shows a horizontal section of part of the above mechanism,wherein the constituents occupy the relative positions not to transmitpower;

FIGURE 4 represents a simflar sectional view as that of FIGURE 3,wherein, however, the constituents occupy another relative positionsadapted to transmit power;

FIGURE 5 is a sectional view taken on the line AA in FIGURE -I, wherein,however, the balance wheel has been removed and the upper drive shaftwith a sleeve mounted thereon are shifted about 90 degrees from theposition shown in FIGURE 1, in order to clearly show the workingcondition of an operating lever employed therein;

FIGURE 6 is an inverted plan view of part of the winding mechanism;

FIGURE 7 represents a partial the line VIIVII in FIGURE 6;

FIGURE 8 represents perspective views of essential constituents of thewinding mechanism, being, however, dismantled from one after another;

FIGURE 9 is a perspective view of the balance wheel end of the machinehead with the clapper cover opened up in order to illustrate thebuilt-in constituents of the winding mechanism.

Now, referring to the drawings, a balance wheel I is provided as in theconventional manner at one end of the machine head 46, said balancewheel being mour'ted on a sleeve or bushing 4 in such a manner that thecylindrical bore surface 2 is kept in engagement with the outsidesurface of the bushing 4, which is formed with a flange sectional viewtaken on "ice 22 at the inner end thereof and fixed on a conventionalupper drive shaft 3 rotatably mounted horizontally of the machine andadapted to actuate various operating mechanisms contained in the machinehead as known per se for making sewing operations. The balance Wheel Iis provided with an inwardly projecting cylindrical part formed integraltherewith, the said cylindrical projection being provided with acircular groove 6 on its peripheral surface adapted to receive thedriving belt driven from a self-contained motor not shown. In additionthereto, the cyiindrical projection is formed at its inner end with aninclined contact surface 64 adapted to engage with a winding wheel 13 ofthe winder mechanism, which will be described more in detailhereinafter. The balance wheel 1 is held in position by engagement withthe flange 22 of bushing 4 as well as with a relatively large screw plug5, which is screwed into the bushing 4 at its outer end as clearly seenfrom FIGURE 1.

In the present invention, the bushing 4 is formed with a longitudinalgroove or recess 7 on its outside surface, and a change-over lever 9 ismounted pivotally at its one end within the recess 7 by means of a pivotscrew 3, while the opposite end of said lever projects in the inwarddirection out of the inner end of the bushing to form an engaging end19. The change-over lever 9 is formed with a receiving slot 26, in whichan engageable member such as a roller or a steel ball is looselyinserted. A coil spring 11 is inserted under compression between oneside edge 21 of said lever '9 and one side wall of said longitudinalrecess 7, thus the lever 9 being urged in the same direction as thenormal rotational direction of balance wheel 1. As shown in FIGURES 2and 4, the longitudinal groove '7 is provided at a part of its bottomwith a small recess 23, which is so shaped and arranged to receive theengageable member It) and thus to retain it therein, when an externalforce acts upon the change-over lever 9 at its operating end I9 againstthe action of spring II to retract said lever.

It will be seen from the foregoing, that when the balance wheel I isdriven by a belt (not shown) kept in driving engagement with thecircular groove 6 formed on said wheel, and thus the machine isoperating in its normal sewing service, the spring H is efiective so asto urge the change-over lever 9 towards its extreme position as shown inFIGURE 9, thus said lever pivoting to the end position about pivot pin3, thereby the engageable member It} being taken out of said smallengaging recess 23 and occupying a relatively nearer position to theside wall of longitudinal groove 7. Under these conditions, the memberis is held in engagement with both the arcshaped inside surface 2 ofbalance wheel 1 and the bottom surface of groove 7, as shown in FIGURE2. Through the intermediary of thus engaged member 19, a positive anddriving connection will be established between balance wheel I andbushing 4. Thus, when the balance wheel I is driven as in theaforementioned manner, rotation is transmitted therefrom through bushing4- to the upper drive shaft 3, and the machine is capable of sewing asin the conventional manner.

When it is desired to change-over the machine from the above mentionedsewing operation to the bobbinwinding one, provision should be made toshift the changeover lever 9 against the action of spring 11 to theposition as shown in FIGURE 3. By this procedure, the engageable memberin is disengaged from between the inside wall surface 2 and the bottomsurface of longitudinal groove '7, thereby placing said member I in thereceiving recess 23 and thus releasing the aforementioned drivingconnection. When the related parts have been thus relieved from thedriving connection, the upper drive shaft 3 as well as the bushing 4 arekept stationary, even when the balance wheel I continues to rotate.Under these conditions, if the operator brings the winding wheel 13 intodriving engagement with the thus independently rotating balance wheel 1at its contact surface 64 as will be described more in detailhereinafter, the bobbin-winding operation may be carried out in asimple, smooth and effective way.

The operating mechanism acting upon the change-over lever at its freeend 1% comprises an operating lever 12, which is, as shown in FIGURES land 5, pivoted on to the machine proper All} by means of a pivot pin 13and urged to its service position as denoted by chain-dotted lines inFIGURE 5, by a bent-Wire spring 15, which is mounted on a screw pin 14screwed in the machine proper. There is provided a pivot cover 16pivoted at 28 by means of a pivot pin 31 on the machine proper adaptedto cover the spool winding arrangement built-in the machine.

This cover 16 is so shaped and arranged that when it is closed as shownin FIGURE 5, an angular edge 26 formed on the inner surface of the coveracts upon the operating lever 12 at its upper arm 24', so that the leveris rotated from the above described service position shown bychaindotted lines to its off-service position as illustrated by fulllines in FIGURE 5, aga nst the influence by spring 15, and kept in thethus shifted new position, unless the cover 16 is reopened. The springacts with its hooked end 25 upon the lower arm of said lever 12, theoperating end of which, adapted to act upon the engageable end 19 ofchange-over lever 9, is shown by a reference numeral 27.

it will be clear from the foregoing, that when the clapper cover 16 isopened, the biasing pressure exerted by the angular edge 26 thereof uponthe upper arm 24 of operating lever 12 is thereby released, thus thelatter returning to the operative position, as shown by the chaindottedlines in FZGURE 5, under the action of spring 15. Thus, during rotationof shaft 3 and bushing 4 with wheel l, the operating lever 12 acts withits operating end 27 upon the shiftable change-over lever 9 at its freeend 19, resulting in angular shifting of lever 9 in the clockwisedirection seen from FIGURES 3 and 4 into the disengaged position asillustrated in FIGURE 3 so that wheel 1 is freely turnable on bushing 4.On the contrary, when the cover 15 is closed as shown in FIGURE 5, theangular edge 26 thereof acts upon the upper arm 24 of operating lever12, which is thus biased to its off-service position as alreadydescribed hereinbefore. The released change-over lever 9 is then movedby the action of spring if. to its power-transmitting coupling positionas shown in FIGURE 4.

Now, turning to the spool-winding arrangement, the main arm cover 41extends substantially over the whole length of the machine arm, less asmall length at the balance wheel side end thereof. The thus formed openspace is selectively covered separately by the afo-rc mentioned clappercover 16, which pivotally mounted on part 23 of the machine arm by meansof the pivot pin 31, as already described. Underneath the clapper cover16, there is a supporting plate 29, which is rigidly fixed to themachine arm at the upper surface thereof by means of a plurality of setscrews 22, as shown in FIGURES 5 and 9. Upon the back surface of cover16, an annular thread guide Si) is mounted on a pin as shown in FIGURE9, W1 ich is adapted to guide the thread 71 from a spool 74 mounted onthe machine proper, to the winding arrangement hereinafter describedmore in detail. The supporting plate 2% is formed with an integral sideflange 33, which is provided a guide slot 34 therein. On the other hand,the clapper cover to is provided with an arm member 36 rigidly fixedthereto by means of a couple of fixing screws 35 as shown in FlGURE 9,and a connecting rod 33 is pivotally connected at its one end with saidarm 36 by means of a pivot pin 37. The opposite end of the connectingrod 33 is guided along the slot 34 by means of an engaging pin 39, whichis fixed on the free end of said rod and engages in the said guide slot.With this connecting linkage arrangement, opened cover 16 is maintainedat a predetermined position.

The winding mechanism mounted on the supporting plate 29 comprises astepped screw 43, by means of which a swivel member 44 and a base plateas are pivotally mounted on said supporting plate as shown in thesectional View of FlGURE 7. Between swivel member 44 and base plate 45,a spring 46 is arranged so as to urge said member id to rotate in theclockwise direction seen from FEGURE 6. The base plate is provided witha slot formed therein and a pin 43 fixed on the swivel member 44 isloosely inserted in the 81011477, thus acting as a stopper between saidboth members 44 and 45 during their relative movement. A project on 49of base plate 45 is bent in the upward direction and passes through aslot cut in the supporting plate 29 above the upper surface thereof. Aspring 51 is mounted on the stern of an end screw 52 screwed on to theupper end (seen in 7) of the stepped screw 43 to prevent the latter fromdisengaging, one end at 53 of said spring 51 engaging with the abovementioned bent-up projection 49, while the opposite end 54 of the springabutting against a projection 55 formed on the supporting plate 29, thusthe base plate 45 being urged to rotate in the counter clockwisedirection.

A finger-operated operating lever or presser 56 is pivotally mounted onsupporting plate 29 by means of a stepped screw 57, a spring 6 beingtensioned as illustrated in FlGURE 6 between a projection 53 on saidpresser 56 and a stationary pin 59 studded on plate 29, thereby thepresser being urged to rotate in the clockwise direction seen fromFIGURE 6. The finger-operated presser 56 and the base plate 45 are sodimensioned and arranged that a shoulder 61 for-med on the former isalways kept in engagement with a projection 62 formed integral with thelater, as shown in FIGURE 6. The swivel member 44 is cut through a bore63, in which a winder shaft 1:7 is fit with rotatable plays. As seenfrom FIGURE 7, a winding wheel 13 is press-fit on to the lower end ofsaid shaft 17 and adapted to engage with the inclined contact surface64, as already described hereinbefore. The shaft proper 65 of windershaft 17 projects through a recess 68 formed on the supporting plate2.9, which is further formed with an opening 69 cut therethrough asclemly seen in FlGURES '7 and 8, the finger engaging portion 67 of saidpresser 5d passing through said opening 6? from below to upper. Theabove described winder mechanism further comprises a winding reel 7% forthread winding, a fixing nut '72 for firmly positioning the steppedscrew 57, and a bobbin 73 mounted on the shaft proper 65 to windup theunder thread.

With the above mentioned winding mechanism, when it is desired not toservice the mechanism, the clapper cover 16 is closed as in the manneralready described, rotation is not transmitted from balance wheel to thewinding mechanism and at the same time whole of the latter is neatlycontained within the thus closed cover 16, thus in this off-servicecondition providing none of projecting parts out of the machine head,wlt'ch provides thereby a beautiful appearance of the machine.

On the contrary, if it is desired to service the winding mechanism, theclap er cover 16 is opened as explained hereinbefore, thereby motion istransmitted from the balance wheel to the Winding mechanism, and at thesame time the Whole constituents of the latter are exposed to theoperators eyes and ready for winding-up the thread by means of thewinding reel '71 Under the winding conditions, the swivel member 44 andbase plate 45 are maintained in a balanced relation to each other by thefact, that the member is urged to rotate in the clockwise direction bythe influence of spring 46, while the plate 45 is pressed in the counterclockwise direction by means of spring 51. By the above mentionedresilient transmitting connection, the driving engagement betweenwinding wheel 1% and the contact surface 64 on balance wheel providingalso a resilient nature, which means a desirous effect upon the threadwinding-up operation.

With the above illustrated winding mechanism, the presser 56 is urged bya spring 60 to rotate about the stepped screw '57 in the counterclockwise direction as viewed from FIGURE 6, thus urging with itsshoulder 61 the base plate 45 through engagement with the projection 22thereon to rotate equally in the counter clockwise direction. By thelast mentioned action, the winding wheel 18 is normally kept clear fromthe contact surface 64 on balance wheel 1. When the operator pressesdown the portion 67 of presser 56 with his fingers end, the wheel 18 isbrought against the action of spring 60 into engagement with saidcontact surface 64, thereby motion is transmitted thereto from balancewheel 1.

In order to avoid somewhat difficult machining of the above mentionedrecess 23 in the bottom of the longitudinal groove 7, a modifiedembodiment of the invention is provided with a relatively deeper groovecorresponding to that denoted by reference numeral 7 and a thin striphaving an opening corresponding in its shape to the recess 23 isinserted in the deeper groove and mounted firmly in position on thebottom of the latter.

It will be clearly understood, that the invention provides a simple andefficient means adapted to be changedover from the drivinglytransmitting service to the offservice position between the inside wallsurface in the central bore of the balance wheel and the outsideperipheral surface of the bushing 4, or in the reverse sense, as theoccasion may desire.

While in the conventional machine, when the operator desires to makeready for bobbin winding he has to manually loosen the stop motion knobor the like and then to retighten the same again, which means atroublesome and time-consuming operation, the mechanism according tothis invention provides an effective and quick operating possibility,only by way of closing and opening the clapper cover pivoted to themachine proper.

While substantially only one embodiment of the present invention hasbeen shown and described, it will be understood that the embodiment iscapable of further modification and variation while still employing thepninciples of the invention. It is to be understood, therefore, that thescope of the invention should be limited only by the scope and properinterpretation of the claim appended hereto.

The invention having thus been described, that which is believed to benew and for which protection by Letters Patent is desired, is:

In a sewing machine, in combination, a drive wheel; a main shaft adaptedto cause sewing operations and turnably supporting said drive wheel;coupling means including a shiftable means movable between adisconnecting position, and a coupling position for coupling said shaftwith said wheel; a bobbin-winding mechanism including a support plate, abobbin holder having a vertical axis and projecting from said supportplate and dapted to support a bobbin, and control means operable toestablish a drive connection between said bobbin-winding mechanism andsaid drive wheel; a cover member movable between a closed positioncovering said bobbinwinding mechanism, and an open position permittingac cess to the same, said cover member being operatively connected tosaid shiftable means so that the latter assumes said disconnectingposition when said cover member is in said open position and assumessaid coupling position when said cover member is in said closed positionwhereby said control means of said bobbin winding mechanism can only beoperated when said cover member is in said open position and said shaftis disconnected from said drive wheel, said cover member having an innersurface exposed only in said open position and located substantially atthe horizontal level of said bobbin holder; :1 vertical spool supportingmember located at said level outside of said cover member and adapted tosupply a thread; and a guide means mounted on said inner surface forguiding a thread from said spool supporting member to the bobbin in saidopen position of said cover memher, said guide means projecting upwardsat said level from said inner surface of said cover member in said openposition.

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